Such a swell swell

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Armed with advice from some friends and a copy of “Hiking the Southwest’s Canyon Country” by Sandra Hinchman, we set off on a tour of canyons in southern Utah.

From Salt Lake City, we headed south to the Wedge Overlook, which overlooks the Little Grand Canyon and San Rafael River.  This area is in the northern section of the San Rafael Swell, a stunning anticline and home to many fantastic outdoor adventures.  Next, we drove south through and spent the night in Buckhorn Draw, a worthwhile destination on its own.

The next day, we headed towards Goblin Valley State Park and hiked Crack Canyon, which was pleasingly shaded.  There were a few spots that required boulder-hopping.  We camped on one of the many dirt roads along the northern side of the San Rafael Reef, which is so named because of appearance and not because it was an ocean reef.  We moved to within the Goblin Valley State Park boundaries.  The Goblin Valley is bizarre, fantastic, almost alien terrain.  After a day here, we hiked the Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon loop.  These canyons were pretty, dry, and mostly shaded.  The roughly two mile hike connecting the canyons was an unshaded slog through sand.

Finally, we headed south through Hanksville towards Capitol Reef National Park.  Regrettably, time only permitted a brief hike from the visitor center up Sulfur Creek.  We hiked in the river, which had about 10 inches of water at the deepest.  We climbed the first water fall but turned back due to threat of storm.  To finish off the day, we drove the marked scenic drive, which was nothing short of incredible.  We finished the tour with convenient camping on BLM land just west of the park.

I regret not having enough time to explore more and look forward to returning, preferably with ropes and kayaks.

Crescent Junction near Moab, UT

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Passed through here en route to Salt Lake City. The town was bustling with an Easter jeep safari. We got into town late and were grateful to find a place to rest. Good boondocking at Papa Joe’s gas station in Crescent Junction, at the intersection of the 191 and the 50. Park in the dirt lot on the east side of the gas station.

In the morning, we discovered where Scooby Doo has been.

Mystery Machine with Flat Tire

Welcome to the Blogroll: V W Viaje

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We meet the neatest people while travelling. Nima Mahak and his girlfriend Mary found us in a grocery store cafe, and shared the generous friendship of their experiences as “van people”. They have a VW Westie, and have travelled the world in it. Nima started out on a surf tour of central America. He’s since travelled in Africa, Korea, and beyond. His website V W Viaje is a feast of inspiration. Hope you enjoy his writing as much as we do.

Yeti vs Mud and Tree

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Found a lovely campsite off Mirrror Lake Highway in the Wasatch Mountains. The site had a trickle of water flowing down the road. No big deal for the 4WD, right? Utah mud is powerful, it turns out. All 4 tires spun or held still in several spots, and the ruts got deeper. The air lockers and the locking hubs got a workout. Peter finally maneuvered us out of the mud and pulled forward into the site. And then a tree branch dug under the front of the roof rack. Normally, we’d back out gently and release the branch. But 1 foot back would put us back in the mud field. So, Peter climbed up with the pruning saw and we took apart the tree branches. In the end, Peter freed the Yeti and the tree survived. Yeti 1, Mud 1. Live to travel another day.

We’re thinking about our rescue equipment kit. What are the best pieces of equipment to have for mud rescue? Comments and advice welcome.

 

Emigration Trail and Sugar House, Salt Lake City, Utah

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Emigration Canyon was the first path into the Salt Lake valley for first the Donner Party and then the Mormon pioneers. This plaque along Emigration Creek describes the trip.

Of the many canyons rising out of the valley, Emigration Canyon’s slope is the gentlest. This makes the canyon popular for cyclists and runners. Emigration Creek flows down the canyon and into the Sugar House area, linking these two popular neighborhoods.

The neighborhoods of Emigration Canyon and Sugar House are beautiful places to live and visit. Here are some of our favorite spots:

Dining: For great local food, have brunch at Pinon Cafe or Eggs in the City.

Eggs in the City

From Eggs in the City, cross the street to Emigration Market. Try the gelato there, and top it with a pinch of sea salt. Check out the knitted bicycle rack and the dog parking station.

Emigration Market

Stroll around the Sugarhouse neighborhood to admire the houses and work up an appetite, then head to Sea Salt for dinner. We recommend the Vegetable Cruda salad, Caprese appetizer, and the crushed basil martini.

Places to work: There’s an unnamed small city park just east of Hogle Zoo that’s quiet and private. Park at the east end of the lot, next to the (informal) off leash dog area.

Park at Emigration Creek

Pinon Cafe and Emigration Market offer free wifi and ample plugs, and don’t mind if you settle in for awhile. The library at Mill Creek Community Center is newly renovated and has a cozy fireplace room.

Get clean: A $4.50 day pass to the Mill Creek Gym (upstairs from the library) buys a workout and a steaming hot shower in their brand new locker rooms. Village Cleaners offers a clean, well-lit laundromat with free wifi. Their Cottonwood location is just down the street from Whole Foods.

Park City, UT

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Catching some Spring skiing in Park City. There are 3 ski resorts in town — Deer Valley, Park City, and the Canyons.

For lodging, Jordanelle State Park is within 15 minutes drive. The hot showers and laundry are nice perks after a sweaty day on the slopes. For Deer Valley, the Jordanelle Express gondola is a 5 minute drive away. This gondola area has abundant free parking. Furthermore, the solicitous staff will give you a ride to your car, lift your skis onto the gondola, and offer free overnight ski storage. Katherine skied her first double blue run here — Orion.

Park CIty ski resort is right in town. They cater to families with a variety of terrain parks and lots of “adventure zones” for glade skiing. The adventure zones are marked with cute snow monster sculptures like these.  History buffs will also enjoy the old mining buildings.

Photos from Park City ski resort:

The Canyons is the largest of the three area ski resorts. It feels the most like an alpine resort. While Deer Valley and Park City have high desert plants, the Canyons is filled with spruce trees. If you like intermediate cruiser runs, the whole mountain is open to you. The grading system here felt one notch easier than Telluride.

Logistics

Shopping: The Market at Park City is conveniently next door to the State liquor store. This liquor store has a a good selection of local microbrews.

Laundry: Ying’s laundry in Park City, or the laundromat at Jordanelle.

Parking : All the ski resorts offer free parking for daytime through early evening. The large lots have plenty of room for RVs. Park City also has several city lots that offer 4 hours of free parking.

Telluride, CO

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We’ve been in Telluride for the past week to catch some spring skiing. If you’re going to ski-RV in Telluride, or stay in town longer than a week, a few local tips will come in handy.

Services:

The nearest laundromat, barber shop, or car oil change facility is 40 miles away. High-end salons will do hair cuts, though even a basic men’s haircut is $35. Most large apartment buildings and motels have coin-op laundry, if you happen to have friends staying there.

For fuel and propane fills, we recommend Mike at the country store on highway 145 at the west end of town. He knows propane systems and does a good job. For fresh water, he generously let us use the tap on the east end of the building (near the door to the auto glass shop) for fills. Even in winter, this tap ran. It can be hard to get fresh water fills in Telluride in winter, so we sure appreciated it!

Food deals:

$3 local microbrew drafts every day at Tomboy Tavern in Mountain Village. They make their money on the food instead, so eat before heading over. Recommed the Left Hand Milk Stout on Nitro. The Nitro makes the head super creamy. If you wish to eat, the truffle fries or the Ahi burger are satisfying accompaniments

Breakfast at La Cocina de Luz. The entrees are big enough to feed two. If you’re solo, they’ll sell a half order if you ask.

Parking:

Telluride and Mountain Village are both very walkable, and the free gondola connects the two towns. Plan to park the RV once for the day.

Telluride: Free daytime parking at Carhenge on Pacific and Tomboy. Plenty of room for RVs and larger vehicles. The lot is open from 6 am to 2 am daily. The river trail makes a nice walk to the gondola.

Mountain Village: The gondola garage fits RVs and charges $7 per day.  A grocery store is right around the corner, and the garage has ski in/out access to the slopes.

Overnight parking:

The closest campground that’s open all winter is Caddis Flats outside Placerville. It’s a 30 minute drive from Telluride.

As the snow melts in Spring, forest roads become accessible. They can be muddy, though. The Telluride visitor center has a helpful map of the dispersed camping areas that are near town.

Mail:

The Telluride post office actually answers the phone (hooray!) and accepts packages mailed to General Delivery.

Shopping and Paring Down:

The 2-story hardware store is impressively well-equipped.

Need to get rid of stuff from your RV? The free box or animal aid thrift store accept donations. The thrift store has some great deals on designer clothes and ski gear, too.